Farm Level Soil Water Conservation Techniques and Poverty among Farmers in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This study examines soil water conservation techniques adoption as a means towards increased food production, income generation and poverty reduction among farming households in Akwa Ibom State. 90 farmers/respondents were randomly selected from the three Senatorial Districts of Uyo, Ikot Ekpene and Eket that make up the study area. Frequency counts, means and percentages were the tools of analysis using tables to summarize the results. Other analytical tools included the Gross Margin, Profit, Regression models and the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) weighted index model to ascertain the performance of the various soil water conservation techniques in terms of income generation, level of adoption and poverty reduction among farmers in the study area. Findings reveal that most of the farmers have adopted one form of soil water conservation or the other since the inception of their farming business especially in erosion and drought prune locations having N7, 549,670 and N7, 297,640 gross margin and profit respectively as returns. A very negligible percentage (8.89%) of the farmers that have not used any conservation method attributed it to their cultural belief, no erosion problem and operating on few and less than 1 hectare of farmland on subsistence level to feed the family. 57.78% of the farmers lived above poverty line while a negligible percentage (14.44%) are the extreme poor. The results also reveal that apart from marital status and farming system all other explanatory variables specified in the models were significant determinants to soil water conservation techniques adoption. More extension contacts, increased micro credit and effective marketing systems are recommended. Keywords: Adoption, Farmers, Poverty, Income, conservation techniques